airtable-automation

Airtable Automation

Automate Airtable bases with views, automations, integrations, and cross-platform workflows. Based on n8n's Airtable integration templates.

Overview

This skill covers:

• Database design and views
• Built-in automations
• n8n integration workflows
• Formula and rollup design
• Reporting and dashboards

Database Design

Base Structure Template

base: "Project Management"tables:  Projects:    fields:      - Name: single_line_text (primary)      - Status: single_select [Planning, Active, On Hold, Complete]      - Priority: single_select [P0, P1, P2, P3]      - Owner: collaborator      - Start Date: date      - Due Date: date      - Budget: currency      - Tasks: link_to_records (Tasks)      - Progress: rollup (Tasks.Status, COUNTIF(Done)/COUNT)      - Days Remaining: formula (DATETIME_DIFF(Due Date, TODAY(), 'days'))        Tasks:    fields:      - Task Name: single_line_text (primary)      - Project: link_to_records (Projects)      - Status: single_select [To Do, In Progress, Review, Done]      - Assignee: collaborator      - Due Date: date      - Hours Estimated: number      - Hours Actual: number      - Attachments: attachment        Team:    fields:      - Name: single_line_text (primary)      - Email: email      - Role: single_select [PM, Developer, Designer, QA]      - Current Projects: link_to_records (Projects)      - Capacity: number (hours/week)      - Utilization: rollup (calculate from Tasks)

Views Configuration

views:  Projects:    - Grid: All Projects        fields: [Name, Status, Owner, Due Date, Progress]        sort: Due Date (ascending)            - Kanban: By Status        group_by: Status        card_fields: [Name, Owner, Due Date]            - Calendar: Timeline        date_field: Due Date            - Gallery: Project Cards        cover: Attachments          Tasks:    - Grid: My Tasks        filter: Assignee = {Current User}        sort: Due Date            - Kanban: Sprint Board        group_by: Status            - Calendar: Task Calendar        date_field: Due Date

Automations

Built-in Airtable Automations

automation_1:  name: "New Task Notification"  trigger:    when: record_created    table: Tasks  actions:    - send_slack:        channel: "#project-updates"        message: |          📋 New task created!          Task: {Task Name}          Project: {Project}          Assignee: {Assignee}          Due: {Due Date}automation_2:  name: "Overdue Task Alert"  trigger:    when: record_matches_conditions    table: Tasks    conditions:      - Status: not "Done"      - Due Date: before today  actions:    - send_email:        to: "{Assignee.email}"        subject: "⚠️ Overdue Task: {Task Name}"        body: "Your task '{Task Name}' was due on {Due Date}."    - update_record:        field: Status        value: "Overdue"automation_3:  name: "Project Complete"  trigger:    when: record_updated    table: Projects    field: Progress    condition: equals 100%  actions:    - update_record:        field: Status        value: "Complete"    - send_slack:        channel: "#wins"        message: "🎉 Project '{Name}' completed!"

n8n Integration Workflows

workflow: "Form to Airtable to CRM"trigger: typeform_submissionsteps:  1. create_airtable_record:      base: "Leads"      table: "Contacts"      fields:        Name: "{form.name}"        Email: "{form.email}"        Company: "{form.company}"        Source: "Website Form"        Created: "{timestamp}"          2. enrich_data:      clearbit: lookup_email      update_record:        Company Size: "{clearbit.company_size}"        Industry: "{clearbit.industry}"          3. sync_to_hubspot:      create_contact:        email: "{email}"        properties: from_airtable          4. notify_sales:      slack:        channel: "#new-leads"        message: "New lead: {Name} from {Company}"

Formula Reference

Common Formulas

formulas:  days_until_due:    formula: "DATETIME_DIFF({Due Date}, TODAY(), 'days')"    output: number      is_overdue:    formula: "IF(AND({Status}!='Done', {Due Date}<TODAY()), 'Yes', 'No')"    output: text      full_name:    formula: "CONCATENATE({First Name}, ' ', {Last Name})"    output: text      progress_bar:    formula: |      REPT('▓', ROUND({Progress}/10, 0)) &       REPT('░', 10-ROUND({Progress}/10, 0)) &       ' ' & ROUND({Progress}, 0) & '%'    output: text (visual progress)      status_emoji:    formula: |      SWITCH({Status},        'To Do', '⬜',        'In Progress', '🔵',        'Review', '🟡',        'Done', '✅',        '❓'      )    output: text      workdays_remaining:    formula: "WORKDAY_DIFF(TODAY(), {Due Date})"    output: number      quarter:    formula: |      'Q' & CEILING(MONTH({Date})/3) & ' ' & YEAR({Date})    output: text

Rollup Examples

rollups:  task_count:    linked_field: Tasks    aggregation: COUNT(values)      total_hours:    linked_field: Tasks    rollup_field: Hours Estimated    aggregation: SUM(values)      completion_rate:    linked_field: Tasks    rollup_field: Status    aggregation: |      COUNTALL(IF(values='Done', 1)) / COUNT(values) * 100        average_rating:    linked_field: Reviews    rollup_field: Rating    aggregation: AVERAGE(values)

Integration Patterns

Airtable + Slack

slack_integration:  new_record_notification:    trigger: record_created    action: post_to_channel    template: |      *New {Table} Record*      {Field1}: {value1}      {Field2}: {value2}      <{record_url}|View in Airtable>        daily_digest:    schedule: "9am weekdays"    query: records_due_today    action: post_summary      slash_command:    command: /airtable-add    action: create_record_from_slack

Airtable + Calendar

calendar_sync:  airtable_to_google:    trigger: record_with_date_created    action: create_calendar_event    mapping:      title: "{Name}"      start: "{Date}"      description: "{Notes}"        google_to_airtable:    trigger: calendar_event_created    action: create_airtable_record    mapping:      Name: "{event.title}"      Date: "{event.start}"      Type: "Meeting"

Airtable + Zapier/n8n

multi_step_workflow:  name: "Lead Processing Pipeline"    trigger:    platform: airtable    event: new_record    table: Raw Leads      steps:    - enrich:        service: clearbit        input: email        output: company_data            - score:        service: ai_scoring        criteria: [company_size, industry, title]        output: lead_score            - route:        condition: lead_score        high: assign_to_sales        medium: add_to_nurture        low: mark_as_cold            - update_airtable:        table: Qualified Leads        fields: [enriched_data, score, assignment]            - notify:        if: high_score        slack: dm_sales_rep

Reporting Templates

Weekly Status Report

report_automation:  schedule: "Friday 5pm"    queries:    completed_this_week:      table: Tasks      filter:         - Status: Done        - Completed Date: this_week            in_progress:      table: Tasks      filter:        - Status: In Progress            overdue:      table: Tasks      filter:        - Status: not Done        - Due Date: before today          output:    format: markdown    destination: [slack, email]    template: |      # Weekly Status Report - {week}            ## Completed ({completed_count})      {completed_list}            ## In Progress ({in_progress_count})      {in_progress_list}            ## Overdue ({overdue_count}) ⚠️      {overdue_list}            ## Metrics      - Completion rate: {rate}%      - On-time delivery: {on_time}%

Dashboard View

dashboard:  name: "Project Dashboard"    widgets:    - summary_bar:        metrics:          - Total Projects: COUNT(Projects)          - Active: COUNT(Status='Active')          - At Risk: COUNT(Days Remaining < 7)              - progress_chart:        type: bar        data: Projects grouped by Status            - upcoming_deadlines:        type: list        query: Projects where Due Date in next 14 days        sort: Due Date ascending        limit: 10            - team_utilization:        type: horizontal_bar        data: Team members by task count

Output Example

Request: "Design an Airtable base for content marketing"

Output:

# Content Marketing Base## Tables### 1. Content Calendar| Field | Type | Purpose ||-------|------|---------|| Title | Text | Content title || Status | Select | Idea → Draft → Review → Published || Type | Select | Blog, Video, Social, Email || Author | Collaborator | Assigned writer || Publish Date | Date | Target publish date || Platform | Multi-select | Blog, LinkedIn, Twitter || Keywords | Multi-select | SEO keywords || Performance | Link | → Analytics |### 2. Analytics| Field | Type | Purpose ||-------|------|---------|| Content | Link | → Content Calendar || Views | Number | Page views || Engagement | Number | Likes + comments || Conversions | Number | CTAs clicked || Date | Date | Measurement date |## Automations**1. New Content Idea**

Trigger: Record createdAction: Slack to #content-ideas

**2. Ready for Review**

Trigger: Status → ReviewAction: Email editor + set due date

**3. Published**

Trigger: Status → PublishedAction:

• Post to social scheduler
• Add analytics tracking row
• Celebrate in Slack 🎉

## Views- 📅 Calendar View (by Publish Date)- 📊 Kanban (by Status)- 👤 My Content (filtered by Author)- 📈 Performance Dashboard

Airtable Automation Skill - Part of Claude Office Skills